India’s first trillion-parameter model to power next-gen AI apps

**India’s First Trillion-Parameter AI Model to Power Next-Gen Applications**

*By Mudit Dube | Sep 19, 2025, 05:18 PM*

In a major stride for India’s artificial intelligence landscape, BharatGen—a government-backed consortium led by IIT Bombay—has been awarded over ₹900 crore under the IndiaAI Mission. This substantial funding will support the creation of India’s first trillion-parameter large language model (LLM), designed to fuel next-generation AI applications across multiple sectors.

### Building a Trillion-Parameter Model for India

The ambitious project aims to develop a massive AI model tailored specifically for Indian contexts. However, this colossal “mother” model is not intended for direct consumer use. Instead, it will be distilled into smaller, domain-specific models suited for industries such as law, agriculture, and finance.

Rishi Bal, Executive Vice President at BharatGen, explained that these distilled models could serve practical uses—like agricultural advisory tools available in various regional languages or legal assistants trained on Indian case law—making AI more accessible and useful across diverse fields.

### Creating a Sovereign Indian Dataset

To ensure that the LLM accurately reflects India’s unique languages and cultures, BharatGen is heavily investing in building a sovereign dataset. The consortium is collaborating with publishers to license archival content and is providing free OCR services to digitize regional texts.

Furthermore, crowdsourced annotation efforts are underway to capture the linguistic nuances and cultural specificities of Indian languages. This indigenous data collection strategy is aimed at reducing reliance on foreign datasets and better aligning AI outputs with Indian realities.

### Overcoming GPU Supply and Funding Challenges

Training a trillion-parameter AI model requires thousands of GPUs working in parallel, and hardware availability remains a key challenge. Bal noted that, like many in the field, BharatGen must navigate GPU supply constraints.

The ₹900 crore government funding will partially subsidize GPU acquisition, supporting the computational backbone of this mammoth training effort. Under the IndiaAI Mission, nearly 40,000 GPUs have been allocated across various initiatives, including BharatGen’s sovereign LLM project.

### Focus on Reliability and Real-World Impact

BharatGen CEO Ganesh Ramakrishnan emphasized that the focus is on building models grounded in Indian data and languages rather than simply scaling up parameters. He highlighted the importance of reliability for real-world applications.

The consortium plans to release distilled models to developers, enabling startups and enterprises to build AI-powered solutions without needing to train massive models from scratch. This approach is expected to accelerate innovation and democratize access to cutting-edge AI technology.

### Collaborative, Efficient Operations

Operating on a hub-and-spoke model with teams spread across India, BharatGen brings together engineers, data scientists, and domain experts while maintaining lean operations. This distributed structure fosters collaboration and specialization.

Looking ahead, BharatGen is exploring public-private partnerships and sustainable revenue models such as licensing distilled AI models — ensuring continuous growth and broader adoption of Indian AI technologies.

With this landmark project, BharatGen is paving the way for AI systems that are not only powerful but also deeply rooted in India’s linguistic and cultural landscape, promising impactful and reliable applications across the nation’s key sectors.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/iit-bombay-s-bharatgen-to-build-1t-parameter-ai-model/story

India’s first trillion-parameter model to power next-gen AI apps

**India’s First Trillion-Parameter Model to Power Next-Gen AI Apps**
*By Mudit Dube | Sep 19, 2025, 05:18 PM*

**BharatGen Consortium Awarded ₹900 Crore to Build India’s Largest AI Model**

A government-backed consortium led by IIT Bombay, BharatGen, has been granted over ₹900 crore under the IndiaAI Mission to develop India’s first trillion-parameter large language model (LLM). This ambitious project aims to create a massive AI system that will serve as the foundation for building smaller, domain-specific models tailored for sectors such as law, agriculture, and finance.

**From a ‘Mother Model’ to Specialized AI Solutions**

Rishi Bal, Executive Vice President at BharatGen, explained that the trillion-parameter model is not intended for direct use by consumers. Instead, it will act as a “mother system” from which smaller, more efficient AI models can be distilled. These specialized models could include agricultural advisory tools available in regional languages or legal assistants trained on Indian case law, designed to meet the unique needs of various industries.

**Building a Sovereign Indian Dataset**

To ensure the AI reflects authentic Indian contexts, BharatGen is heavily investing in creating a sovereign dataset by aggregating diverse Indian content. The consortium is collaborating with publishers to license their archives and create comprehensive digital corpora. Additionally, they are providing free OCR (Optical Character Recognition) services to digitize regional texts and are employing crowdsourced annotation to capture the nuances of Indian languages and culture.

**Hardware Challenges and GPU Availability**

Training a trillion-parameter model requires thousands of GPUs running in parallel. Bal acknowledged the challenges in securing sufficient hardware and noted that BharatGen must wait for GPU supply like others in the field. The ₹900 crore government funding will act as a subsidy to help procure the necessary GPUs. Under the IndiaAI mission, around 40,000 GPUs have been allocated to various projects, including building India’s sovereign LLM models.

**Focus on Reliability and Real-World Applications**

Ganesh Ramakrishnan, CEO of BharatGen, emphasized that their priority is creating AI models grounded in Indian data and languages with a strong focus on reliability for real-world applications—not just raw scale. BharatGen plans to release distilled versions of the model to developers, enabling startups and enterprises to build AI-powered applications without the need to train colossal systems from scratch.

**Operational Structure and Future Plans**

BharatGen operates on a hub-and-spoke model with teams distributed across multiple locations in India. According to Bal, this approach helps bring together engineers, data scientists, and domain experts efficiently while keeping operations lean. Ramakrishnan also noted that BharatGen is exploring public-private partnerships and revenue models such as licensing smaller distilled models to sustain and expand the initiative.

This pioneering project marks a significant step toward India’s technological sovereignty in AI, promising customized and reliable solutions tailored for the country’s diverse sectors and languages.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/iit-bombay-s-bharatgen-to-build-1t-parameter-ai-model/story